Watched (ONC 2021)

Chapter 1 - The Green-Eyed Cat

The front door swung open with a long squeal, and Mike stood in the entryway with a frown. "Winston, it appeared again."

"Another old woman's bra in your locker?" I joked and grinned. "You should wear your wedding ring to work."

Mike didn't even crack a smile like he usually did when I teased him. Instead, he shook his head and brushed his mop of shaggy, brown hair out of his eyes. I set my knife on the cutting board and tried to read his gaze which flickered from me to the kitchen and den windows.  He shut the door and set his messenger bag on a tidy wooden bench. 

"It was that statue. The one that looks like an eye ripped out of someone's socket."

Not him too. People in this town were losing their minds about the rumour of a haunted statue bringing bad luck. I returned to cutting up kale for my smoothie, although my hands hesitated like they were punishing me for avoiding sugar all week. 

"That's just teenagers looking to go viral with a creepy-ass stunt. Though whoever made it should stick to sculpting or carving. It'd make a decent horror movie set piece." The students I coached after school considered social media fame their ticket out of this place, and everyone snapped photos of that statue for the likes.

Before this hype, no one understood why I'd chosen quiet Corbeau Woods over the city when Mike and I had met and fallen in love. I craved that bland, predictable atmosphere. It screamed normal and uneventful, which made it the perfect place to one day raise a family if we could ever get a coveted adoption approval.

Mike sighed, traipsed over, and hugged me from the side. The hairs sticking up from the top of his head tickled my nose as the odour of sanitizer and seniors hit me. "It could be more serious than that. Remember how it showed up at Mrs. Crawford's home a few weeks ago?"

"And?"

According to the handful of clients I trained, Corbeau Woods hadn't seen a scandal in over five years, so everyone and their dog were spreading this gossip like the stomach flu. I didn't want to get caught up in it. I needed to be clear-headed if I wanted potential clients and possibly employers to respect and consider me. As boring as the local job openings sounded, my personal training career in this town was as lucrative as a grandmother's hustle knitting baby booties.

Mike stepped away and straightened his black and orange pumpkin scrubs. I still found it adorable he used his wardrobe to brighten the residents' days at the care home.

"No one has seen her all week. Maybe for the past two weeks."

"You've watched too many terrible crime shows. Everyone knows Mrs. Crawford goes 'missing' a few times a year along with her cat. She'll reappear for the pumpkin pie competition like she always does." 

I put the kale into the blender alongside chopped cucumber. The elderly woman often trekked into the woods for days or weeks to harvest different herbs and plants which she shared when she caught us walking past her place. Her habits and occasional mutterings brought old memories to mind, but I pushed them away. Keep your head clear, Winston.

"It's different this time. Folks are worried, and the statue appeared at other places too." Keys rattled as Mike dug his hands into his pockets.

I measured the protein powder. "It's a prank, Mike. No need to worry."

"What if it's not, and someone is targeting people? Mrs. Crawford is just down the road from us. We're outsiders to the town and..." Mike adjusted his thick, black glasses and swallowed.

I set down the measuring cup and ran my palms along his tense shoulders. His muscles relaxed as my hands and thumbs kneaded his back. Once he'd let out a groan of contentment, I lightened my touch.